Are we the luckiest store employees in the world, or what? Over my 6 years selling toys, I’ve always appreciated the privilege of getting to play with toys as a part of my job.

And playing with the toys ourselves adds some essential value for our customers: our job as store associates is to help you find the perfect toy (or piece of baby gear) for your loved ones. But what if you don’t really know the child you’re purchasing a gift for? You might get a snippet or two of info from the parents – hey, this kid loves arts and crafts! But what if the project is too tough, and the kid is getting frustrated and constantly asking mom and dad for help? Or, what if it makes a giant mess in the playroom or kitchen, making the project more work and less fun?

If you come to our stores, you can talk to folks like me, who have personally taken the time to make the craft projects and can fill you in on the details. If you’re not here in New England, though, our new blog series highlighting craft kits is for you: these posts utilize my personal Bean Ratings to rate parent involvement, potential mess, and the length of the project so you can match it to a child’s attention span. And I’ll be adding in a few tips and observations of my own along the way to make things go smoothly.

I’m a dog lover, so when we started carrying Klutz Pom Pom Puppies, I jumped at the chance to give this craft kit a try. This set gives you all the instructions you need to make four adorable little pals, plus all the materials except for a small pair of scissors (so make sure you have one on hand, or include one if you give this set as a gift).

As with all Klutz project books, the directions are easy to follow, with both verbal and visual explanation. Make sure you read the tips at the beginning of the book to avoid any frustration while you’re crafting! Your first puppy may not be just like the photos in the book, but I can promise they will get better and better each time you create, and you’ll end up with the cutest kennel-ful of pups in the end!

Parent Involvement: Mess Factor: Time:

The only part of this craft I foresee a child having difficulty with would be the first step in creating the pom pom itself. After that it’s really fun designing the pup and using your creativity. This project is a bit more involved than some others, and kids will need some patience when building the body of the puppy. Be sure to let the glue rest for a few minutes before moving on to the next step; otherwise it will start to fall apart while you’re trying to add more features. I found that it was the most entertaining to start on a new pup while the first one dries a bit, using a bit of an “assembly line” process. I would essentially be working on two pups at once only in different stages.

The only mess I encountered was from trimming the pup’s “fur” to create the shape of their body, so make sure you set down some newspaper in advance so that cleanup will be a breeze!